1. Field of Art
The present invention relates to an agricultural vehicle having a front axle mounted on a suspension in a manner that permits the front axle to move up and down in relation to the vehicle body and to pivot about the vehicle longitudinal axis so as to allow the wheels on the ends of the axle to move up and down independently. A tractor of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,812.
2. Description of Prior Art
In a vehicle in which the front axle can only pivot about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and cannot move up and down in relation to the vehicle body, it is possible to limit the rotation of the front axle along the vehicle longitudinal axis by providing fixed stops on the vehicle body that collide with the top surface of the housing of the axle at the limits of its permitted range of movement. Such suspension stops cannot however be used when the axle can move up and down as they would allow excessive pivoting of the axle when the axle has moved away from the vehicle body.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a suspension stop for appropriately limiting the rotation of the axle about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle regardless of the height of the vehicle body above the axle.